Knightengale
by Fencer'nWriter
Summary: Tamora Peirce-like story, but no Tammy character.


In a far off country called lsdenia, in a little fief named Hawksbridge, a nine-year-old girl deemed Krahleigha was anxiously awaiting the arrival of her tenth birthday, but a month away. Rahlei, as she was called, wanted nothing more than to go to the capital of Isdenia, Port Versage, and become a Knight. She had always looked up to her older brother and when he had gone of to become a knight she felt that her destiny was set.

She was birthed into a royal family with two siblings. With each of the three children being six year's apart there was a great difference between each. When her sister was thirteen she had been sent to the Convent, a place where men learned to master sorcery and women learned to be "proper". This had had an adverse affect, of sorts, on Rahlei. The constant presence of her brother had turned Rahlei into quite a tomboy. In addition to constantly being in the woods and getting her lovely dresses filthy, having her hair cropped as a boy would, and having manners that some said a "boy" could best, Rahlei was even occasionally mistaken as a boy by those who had yet to make her acquaintance. This would help her in many respects if she were to become a Knight, which surely she would. 

Though she was appreciative of her demeanor in many ways, there were a few flaws in her "perfect" facade. Hampering her, though not severely, the nine-year-old girl social circle saw her as an outcast. During her schooling at Hawksbridge, she had been in class with some girls from surrounding fiefs. The other girls at the castle never talked to her and she had had tricks played on her such as frogs in her bed and mud in her milk, which she thought of as mere jealousy and didn't care either way. More at home with animals than with people, this ultimately never did effect her greatly. Being blessed with the Ability, a powerful form of sorcery, as she was it would not be hard with all her combined talents to succeed as a female Knight.

After having pleaded for almost a year, her parents relented. Off she went with her "chaperone," Jaymark, to become a Knight. Though heavily muscled as his frame was, he had a bit of a potbelly from the years of drinking that his body had put up with. His receding hairline somehow made him look regal and his mustache added to the picture. Knowing Port Versage was three days ride away they settled into a comfortable pace. When Rahlei and her accompanying friend finally reached the surrounding city of Mahrir, both settled at an inn called the Wandering Fawn and were treated with lavish praise that finally a woman was going to challenge the ranks of men in the army. Early the next morning the pair set off on their horses; Jaymark with his trusty blood bay pony Blue Moon and Rahlei was astride Cashew, her big boned Dapple which she had shared company with since she was five. She had always excelled in the horsemanship aspect of her life and she adored Horseback Riding and Jumping. By the early afternoon they had bypassed the city, ridden through the beautiful countryside while being surrounded by the smell of the crisp mountain air and the tall willow trees, and finally arrived at the gold gilded gates where the guards welcomed Rahlei. Jaymark however was looked upon scornfully since it was considered degrading not to be enrolled in the Royal Force. It was painfully obvious, with his potbelly that he was not part of the ranks, poor Jaymark, but he held his own for the majority of the time.

Though Jaymark himself had never been in the Royal Force, he had had many-a-friend that had served for Isdenia. Now he would be there to advise his favorite member of royalty in any way he was able to. They were led into an office occupied by Duke Marknie; a well respected man who was the Official of Internship. He gave them numerous papers to fill out and Jaymark got the majority of the paperwork. Sitting silently, Jaymark began to really think about this whole female knight deal. What if never lives to see the age of twelve or even worse she is crippled and leads a dull bedridden life by that age? After a moment of studying her finely chiseled features he sunk deep back into thought. I have known her all my life and I have served the Hawksbridge family since I was but a wee teen. Not only have I served the family but also I have always been close to every member. Now I'm letting Rahlei do this with out any protest? What kind of man does that make me? In all the thirty-two years I have lived I hope this isn't the worst mistake I have made. I could try to stop Rahlei but she is the most obstinate person I have ever met. 

Once everything was complete the Duke cleared his throat and a servant of sorts opened the door. They were led away and Rahlei realized her dream was finally beginning to come true. She was here for one reason only: to become a Knight. 

Later that day Rahlei sat alone in her room unpacking. It was still hard for her to believe that she was a Page. Her room in the Pages wing was well…. roomy. When she had first entered she had been amazed. He room contained a larger feather bed, a mahogany chest, a small bookshelf to hold her text's and books she was reading for pleasure, and a massive wooden dresser. In addition there was a big comfy chair and a large oak desk for her late night and early morning study. In the privy there was an old mirror, a white tub large enough for three people, a stool with an accompanying set of oak drawers, and adjacent to the privy was her maidservants quarters need she hire one. 

A knock sounded at the door. 

"Yes?" Rahlei inquired. 

"It's Jaymark Miss. I believe it's time for you to go get fitted for your serving clothes," He answered. 

Stepping out, Rahlei was escorted down to the basement and into a narrow corridor. 

"Last door on the right," instructed the young boy who had led them to the tailor's quarters. 

They followed the boy's directions and when the reached the large wooden door Rahlei rapped quietly. A tall burly man opened the door. 

Completely confident, Rahlei asked, "Are you the Tailor? If so I need service clothes." 

The man broke into a fit of laughter. 

"You are a page, weakling? You think your tough enough to cut this? Good Luck!" He told her. 

"I am a page and I wouldn't be here if I weren't tough enough. My service clothes if you please," she quipped not affected in the slightest.

"How ever you please miss." The man replied. A bit surprised by the challenge of sorts her set to work on her clothes. 

After having a braided and knotted rope whipped around her she was then given tunics, breeches, cotton shirts, wool clothing for the winter months which was all lined with fleece. In addition she received underclothes and three pair of sturdy leather boots. For special events such as coronation, parties, and ceremonies she was presented with two scarlet coats gilded with gold lace and white lace, in bars across the front. She was also given two long white waistcoats, three pairs of white breeches and white silk hose, shiny black boots, and the trademark three-corner hat that would distinguish her as a page. Though her clothes had been stuffy and musty smelling in the beginning, they now had that wonderful smell as though she had owned them for years and the fit her to a tee. 

"Don't come back for more than three months time or you'll be getting' no service," the tailor told her. 

"Don't worry," she scoffed as the man snickered yet again. 

Rahlei returned to her room, stowed all her clothes in their appropriate places, and then plopped down on her bed in what could be called sheer exhaustion. The ride north had cost her a significant deal of energy and her mind was racing one thousand miles a second.. In little over an hour she would be assigned an escort, an older page that would figuratively "show her the ropes of pagedom." After the Duke chose her escort she would go to the Grand Dining Hall and eat her first meal as a page. 

"Dong, Dong, Dong," jumping out of bed she realized that it was time for supper. In a sleep dazed stupor she stumbled out of her door and many of the pages clamored up and encircled her. She was a circus attraction of sorts because, being female, she was a very strange site in amongst all the other pages. She had greeted most of the pages when Duke Marknie arrived. "Who would like to be Krahleigha of Hawksbridges' escort?" the Duke inquired. With brown hair and sparkling green eyes, the duke had a heavily muscled frame for his age of 38 though he showed some wear and tear from his days as a soldier. Many of the pages raised their hands, eager to accept the honor, and he appraised each page individually. Clearing his throat as a note of finality, he called upon a tall and lanky youth with dirty blonde hair, a six-pack that showed through his tunic, and gorgeous sapphire eyes. 

"Drewly of Brenshiney, I grant you the opportunity to escort Krahleigha of Hawksbridge as long as you keep your normal antics to a minimal," he declared. 

"Yes your Dukeship. Of course your Dukeship," replied Drewly curtly. 

Rahlei guessed that Drew got in a fair amount of trouble for his loose tongue. The Duke gave an indignant "humph" and strolled down the hall. The crowd quickly receded, all of them eager to get to dinner, while Rahlei was seeking Drewly. Suddenly someone tapped her on the shoulder. Quickly she spun around to investigate the source of her surprise and smacked soundly into her escort. 

"I'm sincerely sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he said. 

"It is alright, but you didn't frighten me in the least, I merely was surprised," she informed him, though she was not thrilled about meeting her escort so abruptly. 

"None the matter though. I'm Drewly of Brenshiney, which is quite obvious, and everyone calls me Drew. My father is Lord Maren of Brenshiney and I'm a page of 8 months," he told Rahlei. 

"Nice to make your acquaintance. I'm Krahleigha of Hawksbridge but my brother deemed me Rahlei at an early age. What do you mean you are a "page of eight months?" she said in return. 

"Oh I see no one has explained to you how the system works. I'll explain over supper but at the moment we need to be walking to the Hall because everyone must be in attendance before we can begin to eat." Drew informed her. 

The Great Hall had only recently been the meal place for pages since an avalanche had buried the mess hall a few years back. With gold gilded wood everywhere and hard oak tables, the lace drapery and metalwork was dwarfed by the immense hand-carved pillars that were placed evenly every thirty feet on the edge of the Hall. They set off towards the dining hall and that's when Rahlei realized she was one of the few female pages to ever set foot in the Great Hall. 

Later that night, Rahlei sat in her room recounting everything. She had learned that she would spend between fourteen months and two years as a page much the same as she would spend between twenty months and three years as a squire. At the end of each year of "pagedom" she would face exams in front of a council over everything she had learned which included fighting arts. She would be taught art, music, and dancing as "social arts" and hunting, riding, and fencing as more pertinent learned traits in addition to a number of other things. At the end of her final month she would have an extravagant exam in the center of Port Versage over what she had learned in its entirety. If, and in her case, when, she passed the exams she would enter into her squirehood and begin roaming the countryside with her knight-official. If the opportunity arose, she would fight in battles but she would wear silver spurs, which would make her discernable from a knight since a knight wore gold spurs gilded with silver. At the end of her "internship" her knight-official would knight her if she survived the Quest. The Quest was the time in which she was sent to a magical deserted island that would test her to the absolute limits. Although this seemed excruciatingly hard many had completed the entire task and Rahlei was more than ready to take on the challenge.

The next morning Rahlei woke up to a knock at the door. 

"Come in," she mumbled grumpily.

Drew sauntered in the door fully decked out in his uniform, ready to great the day.

"How do you get up so early," Rahlei complained.

"You'll get used to it in time," Drew replied. "Now get up and get ready. You have fifteen minutes," he commanded.

"15 minutes!?" she yelped.

Rahlei lurched from her warm, comforting bed and landed on the floor with a thud. She still had not gotten used to the drop from bed to floor. Scrambling to grab her clothes, she accidentally hit Drew square on. There was a strange moment between the two while they were pressed together. Stop being silly, she chided herself, and with that, she ducked into the privy, washed up and finished dressing just as the bell tolled for breakfast. She rushed out of the privy grabbing her canvas pack containing her text and flung open the door all in one solid movement. Just as she lunged forward for fear of being late and having punishment on the fist full day of training a strong hand gripped her shoulder gently restraining her. 

"Calm down," Drew told her softly. "If you're so uptight and fearful of mistake I won't see you here in a mere week."

They both walked briskly to the Great Hall and arrived in time with no trouble. After getting tray and food they sat down at the table and had a lengthy discussion on the duties of a knight. They would go to practice fighting arts together directly after breakfast and then would come dinner. In the afternoon they would have separate classes with the exception of the Ability Honing course and then would come supper that would be proceeded by chores and homework with mere hours of sleep after the grueling day before they had to endure another. Drew let her know it wasn't all that hard once you she settled a routine but at the current time she was far from sure.

In the training courts the entire motley group of pages had listened to Lord Brayden give instructions and a lengthy summary of the year for almost two hours and they were currently being assigned weapons. After being given a general assortment of dull tools, they were tested on their ability of using lances, bow's, swords, and knives by demonstrating their skills of each to destroy a large stuffed pigeon. The raw beginners would continue using practice tools where as the more advanced students were given weapons of their own. The rule was that bow's and target shooting would be most concentrated upon. The next most significant would be swords, then lances. And finally knives, fact being, knifework was viewed as a "city art" and people from the city were looked upon much as one would look at a corpse. Rahlei was personally given weapons of her own considering she had been taught all of the fighting arts by her Uncle Sedian, since she was since she was a wee tot. Always having been a fast learner, by the age of six Rahlei had all the basics of every division mastered. 

Back in her room, Rahlei appraised what weapons she had been presented with. The first was a four and three-fourth's foot long lance. The jousting art had always bee her least favorite art and before she was accepted as a knight she had vowed never to use a lance again after she had cracked 5 ribs in a joust with her brother. Now it seemed that all that must be forgotten. A bow, her next instrument, which she found easiest to wield, was made for a full grown man with a it's broad birch curve and it's diamond studded edge. Many of the boys were in awe and some were jealous in reference to her athletic ability. The majority couldn't string much less draw the Master's Bow and Rahlei struck a dead bulls eye twelve out of thirteen attempts on a target forty meters away. The most impressive of her weapons was her sword. The shining foot and a half double-edged strait blade, much different for the traditional, short curved blade had a Sapphire, Ruby, and Crystal hilt with thick leather bindings and a gold-washed sheath. She didn't acquire this extravagant tool because she was an exceptional swordswoman. Rahlei, in fact, was merely advanced. She had a long road to travel before she could be considered a master. The true reason that she received this gift, as it could be called, was for the reason that at this time Macenden was at was with Coshenia and soldiers of all sorts were needed. It was entirely possible that Rahlei could be recruited for was in the near future and she was on of the most advanced swordsmen in the ranks so she needed a sword to match her ability. Last but not least. Rahlei received a, eight inch long knife with, yet again, a masters blade. She was least skillful with a knife but that still didn't mean she was unskillful. The pages were instructed to carry her sword with her always, leave her lance and bow in the weapons shed, and lock her knife in her trunk. After seeing her talent and what she had received, Drewly commented that she was one of the most skillful pages he had ever seen and he had lived in the castle ass his life. She had an hour left until supper so she hiked the stairs back up to her room, totally content with herself and her semi-mastery.

The longer the pages were in training the more rigorous it became. Every Saturday a chosen few would go on a "field trip" in which they would experience some of the aspects of life in the field. Rahlei was always in the chosen few because she was a favorite among most at the castle and, as a result, she had begun to get into small skirmishes with a rugged group of outcasts. The leader, Kantali, realized a little too late the Rahlei was a force to be reckoned with and was now suffering from a broken arm, motley scrapes and bruises, and a fractured nose. She had left the fight unscathed and Kantali had "fallen off a horse". 

Just as youth's have cliques, so did the professors. One particular group of well-respected professors had taken a liking to Rahlei. Associated with this group was the "honorable" Sir Danalin. This skinny shadow of a man was but five feet tall and all of 150 pounds. Being on of the few people in the castle that didn't her his only justification was that she was a girl. Though a chauvinistic creep as he was, Rahlei looked at the situation more as a challenge of winning him over than an obstacle. Every time she had his class, she performed exceptionally well and had better manners than anyone, fact being, Sir Danalin taught the Handwriting and Manners course. The harder she tried the more her efforts seemed to pay off. By the time she had worked on him for almost three moons Sir Danalin was inviting her to sit at his table during dinner. Another success for the best page ever. She thought but then chided herself for being so cocky. By now the majority of Kantali's antics had ceased and her training was moving full speed ahead. Her family had made no contact with Jaymark but it was not as if she wanted to hear from her family anyway. Never having anticipated to succeed as she did she was more than pleased with her progress and everything was going exceedingly well with Drew. Drew and my relationship is going very well at the moment, she thought, Quite well indeed. Rahlei had found the fast track and was thriving. 

Turning the corner, Rahlei heard the words "I dub the knight" resonate down the hall only they were pronounced in a slurred voice with a mocking tone. Those four small words were what ever knight-in-training, no matter what rank, longed to hear. Mentally dismissing this, she started up the stairs only to hear Drew plead, "Please, Sir Danalin, I was merely walking to the practice yards to tend to my horse, Graymonque. No, put that down Sir," his voice rising to a panicked tone as he ended the sentence. Leaping from the stairs, a blood-curtailing scream accompanied her landing. Racing down the hall, she flew into another corridor and then into the opened door from which the dreadful sound had come forth. Unprepared for the sight she saw, she stood shaking were the vision had stopped her cold. Abruptly, she felt a sharp blow to her upper skull and a sea of black nothingness immersed her.

Things went in and out of focus as she sat up and shook her head. A horrific smell met her nose and the result was the contents of her stomach spilling onto the floor. The room was pitch black. Nothing could be seen except for a thin shard of light under what she assumed was the door. How did I manage to land myself here with this thing that smells so wretchedly? She asked herself. After a few unsuccessful attempts rise, she took a small wobbling step or two. Her head was pounding and as she stood along the wall she drew on her Ability to help erase the major annoyance. Reaching to what would anatomically be just below her Sternum, she found the shining and pulsing enormous cluster of magical "threads" as they might be called. After placing her fingers on her temples she drew a few thread out of the group and slowly felt them traveling through her shoulder, down her biceps, along her forearm and into her finger tips. Feeling however not seeing the invisible, magic streaming out the ends of her fingers, she immediately felt relief from the headache. She found the rough wall and began to inch along it. Picking herself out of the warm, thick, sticky liquid in which she had just plopped in, she heard a stamping on the ceiling above and realized that she must be below the stables. Continuing on along the wall, she bumped into what she presumed was an armchair. Inching along its perimeter, she noticed a table to her left. Back on the wall, it was a short distance before her hand ran across a smooth metal box, which she knew contained candles. Hmmm…candles aren't located below the stable and neither are chairs. I must have really gotten a blow. Might I be below the Great Hall, she questioned herself. Back to the table she went, sitting the candles atop it. The familiar tingling filled her arm as she used her Ability, slivery emerald in color, to light the candles. The room was bright as the July sun and as she surveyed her surroundings, her eyes feel upon in what she had slipped: crimson blood. Memory came flooding back in a rush. She had seen Drew lying motionless and helpless on the floor, a long dagger submerged in this upper abdomen. The next thing she remembered was a sharp pain and then the rest escaped her up until now. Sinking to the floor, Rahlei cried for only the third time in her life. She ached immensely from every point on her body but that did not deter her from shaking and crying uncontrollably. 

The gruesome memories of the ordeal persisted to resonate graphically throught her mind. In that dark room, which, Rahlei had later come to realize, was under the kitchen, her crying had prudently stifled itself and she had tried to walk back to her quarters as casually and regally as humanly possible and she had relatively succeeded. Her mouth still had that parched and sour feeling to it from crying so long and heavily. She would probably have forgotten to even breathe except for the insignificant fact that it just happened to be vital to her existence. With every disheartened step back to her quarters she fell deeper into self-pity and melancholy. After she had ratified that Drew was indeed seriously injured or likely dead she mentally canvassed over every possible solution of what to do, with the occasional remnant of an image of Crew eroding her thoughts. She had been so preoccupied while trying to think of what the best option would be that she had seemed like a bystander observing a puny boy floundering in self-pity to anyone who might have laid eyes upon though none disturbed her. Her internal brawl had accelerated in intensity by the moment as terror threatened to pervade her and she had begun to include quibbles in her personal argument. As the smell of dinner drifted down the corridor, it was void of any enticing scent to Rahlei and could never quench her desire to know where her Escort was at this very moment. The bell capsized the silence of the hall and as the sound slowly decreased, Rahlei's olive-skinned face contorted in a salvo of simultaneous emotions. She decided once and for all that until she had procured more evidence, which could outstrip the present flaws in her abnormal array of facts that, she called an argument. Now all she must do is surpass the incentive to swerve out of her quarters and repeat the onslaught of information to the ordained minister or to Lord Brayden. 

As she trudged listlessly toward the nub of the palace, the Great Hall, to consume the food without tasting it. Her insubordinate nature told her to begin her search for her beloved Escort at this very moment, but she knew that her disputatious thoughts were incorrect. Intuitively, she was aware that she must continue to thrive and flourish as to not get ejected from her rank as a page immediately after the catastrophe and never have a chance to find Drew, alive or not but she was clueless as to how to pull off this feat. _Great Mother Goddess_, she prayed, _I am at a loss of what to do_. _You know that I must find Drew and where ever he is at this moment please let him be safe but please guide me to the correct path that I am supposed to take. In the Lord and Lady's name I pray. So mote it be._ As she entered the Great Hall she prayed that her current disposition wasn't legible on her face and only Drew could read her eyes but she begged them not to betray her.

Maybe I don't know her very well personally but I know Drew and with Drew comes Rahlei, thought Kamier Resceten. His group, all of which were close to Drew, gathered down the hall from Rahlei's quarters at 11:30 that night. The hall was dark and silent except for the muffled sobs of the only female page in the castle. Drew had always been the leader of there "clique" but Kamier was a close second. The prestigious group consisted of merely five close "members" but six if you counted Rahlei. Those five were: Montague Pamir, a squire, Waj Harjen, a recently graduated page, Drew, Rahlei, Kamier, and Gabriel Fox. Kamier gently tried the door and jumped back as pain shot up his arm. _A protection spell! She **really** is disturbed tonight! _he though.Kamier shared his newfound quandary with his peers. "Step back," commanded Waj. With a silent and invisible yet smothering blast of controlled power, the door soundlessly rushed open, stopping only inches from crashing into the wall. Waj was the most powerful amateur mage in the palace. Most people never mastered there power enough to move any object or have a physical effect yet Waj could blast though solid walls and rip apart most spells he encountered. Rahlei, herself ranked among the top ten of powerful mages of the castle had armed the door with a mighty spell and if Waj had not been with them there would have been no access to the room. Cautiously entering the room, the clique stood their ground, surveying the room around them for signs of life. Everything was orderly, the bed made and the shelves organized, but there was no sign of Rahlei. 


End file.
